Ted Key

Theodore Keyser

(25 August 1912 - 3 May 2008, USA)

Diz and Liz (Jack and Jill, February 1963)

Ted Key was born in Fresno, California, as the son of a Latvian immigrant. Although his father had changed his family name from Keyser to Key during World War II, Ted Key didn't officially adopt this name until the 1950s. Key attended the University of California, and was an editor on several school and campus newspapers. He later settled in New York City, where he worked as a cartoonist and illustrator for magazines like The New Yorker, Ladies' Home Journal, Good Housekeeping, Cosmopolitan, Look, Judge and Collier's Weekly.

Key is best known for his single-panel feature starring the maid 'Hazel', which appeared regularly in the Saturday Evening Post from 1943 to 1969, and was then syndicated by King Features until Key's retirement in 1993. A 'Hazel' TV show was made starring Shirley Booth, which was broadcasted by NBC and later CBS.

Between 1961 and 1972, Key also drew the two-page comic 'Diz and Liz' for Jack and Jill magazine. He additionally contributed to the animation series 'The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show', the 'Positive Attitude' series of Economics Press, as well as a NBC radio play and screenplays for Walt Disney Pictures.